Last weekend at Disney’s fan event D23, Marvel Studios announced a substantial cast for their 2028 X-Men film. We know Sadie Sink will reprise her role as Jean Grey (debuting in Spider-Man: Brand New Day), Kit Connor is Scott Summers, Inde Navarrette will be Rogue, Maya Boyd will portray Storm, and Christopher Abbott takes on the iconic role of Charles Xavier. Samara Weaving has been cast as Emma Frost, though her exact role—hero or villain—remains to be seen. Finally, Adam Driver will play Nathaniel Milbury, an alias for X-Men villain Mr. Sinister. While this is a strong start, there are still some notable absences. Studio head Kevin Feige confirmed that this wasn’t the entire cast, leaving room for speculation about who else might join the team.
Beast
Beast is arguably the most glaring omission from the announced roster. Like Cyclops and Jean Grey, he’s a cornerstone of the X-Men, and his absence feels significant. His inclusion is especially important given his history in previous adaptations. Kelsey Grammer delivered a memorable performance as Beast in the original trilogy, but Nicholas Hoult’s portrayal in X-Men: First Class felt miscast due to his physique and questionable character choices. The new X-Men movies need a strong Beast, and they need to get it right this time.
Several actors have been rumored for the role, including Peter Claffey, LaKeith Stansfield, Charles Melton, and Gaten Matarazzo. However, given the age range of the announced cast (early to mid-20s), these choices might be too old. While Matarazzo is an interesting prospect, he’s already in his late 20s and would need a significant physical transformation to convincingly portray Beast. Plus, having two core X-Men played by actors from Stranger Things might feel repetitive.
Angel
My hope was for Marvel Studios to create a film centered around the original five X-Men: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, and Angel. However, with the inclusion of Storm and Rogue, it’s clear that this won’t happen, and the new film will likely cater to fans of X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ‘97. Still, I hold out hope that Angel and Iceman will be founding members, even if their official induction into the team happens before the events of the film.
Asa Germann, known for his role in Gen V, has been rumored for the role of Angel, and he certainly looks the part. It would also be great to establish Angel as a character before Apocalypse potentially corrupts him in a future installment.
Iceman
My hopes for Iceman are similar to those for Angel. Perhaps he was one of Professor X’s first five students, but we’re picking up the story once several more members have joined the team. So far, there haven’t been many names rumored for Iceman, especially not within the correct age range. Iceman should be one of the youngest members of the team, in keeping with his youthful character.
Gambit
If we’re getting Beast, Angel, and Iceman, I hope that’s it because I don’t want this film to be too crowded. However, Gambit is a major possibility, given his prominence in X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ‘97. With Rogue also being part of the team, there’s at least some chance we’ll see him involved, considering their long romantic history.
Timothée Chalamet has been rumored for Gambit online. While he seems like a decent choice for the role, having such a big star playing what should be a supporting X-Man feels unbalanced.
Jubilee
Jubilee was also a significant part of X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ‘97, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she shows up in the 2028 film. Her perspective as the team’s young newcomer was integral to introducing the X-Men back in the 1990s. However, I’m kind of hoping someone already announced will fulfill this role: Jean Grey. Since we already know Jean thanks to Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it would make sense for her to be our entry point into the film. The first issue of X-Men from 1963 also featured Jean joining the team after Cyclops, Angel, Beast, and Iceman. Maybe she joins the roster at the beginning of the film, with Storm and Rogue entering later? (Again, I really want those first five X-Men!)
While I don’t necessarily want Jubilee in this movie, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, a 16-year-old Avatar: The Way of Water star, has been heavily rumored for the role.
Kitty Pryde
Before Jubilee was the young newcomer to the X-Men, Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde fulfilled that role in the 1980s comic books. While Elliot Page played her in the original X-Men trilogy, Kitty Pryde was never elevated beyond a third-tier inclusion in those films, so there’s still much to explore with this mutant who can walk through walls. However, I hope Marvel waits on this one too.
Most of the names surrounding Kitty Pryde’s casting have been actors in their 20s and 30s, which is too old for the character. To do Kitty Pryde right, it should be a young teen like American Housewife star Julia Butters, who has also been heavily rumored. However, this is another character I’d prefer to see in an eventual sequel.
Morph
The shapeshifter Morph was just canon fodder back in X-Men: The Animated Series, but by reworking the character’s look and making them non-binary, X-Men ‘97 has made Morph into a far more interesting character who represents a different perspective from their teammates. There are no major casting rumors for Morph, which I think is a good thing since this is another character that likely would be better served in a sequel. Still, given their elevated role in X-Men ‘97, it wouldn’t be shocking for Morph to be included in the reboot.
Sebastian Shaw
We already know that Mr. Sinister and Emma Frost will be in this new movie, which leads me to believe we may also get Sebastian Shaw, who is significantly linked to both characters. In the comic books, Shaw, a mutant who can absorb kinetic energy and convert it into superhuman strength, leads the Hellfire Club, a secret society of elite socialites who look to steer global events. This is the character Kevin Bacon played back in X-Men: First Class, and he did a so-so job of it.
Magneto
With the announcement of Mr. Sinister at D23, it seems to confirm the rumor that the new X-Men movie will be taking a break from Magneto-centric stories. This is a good thing, but it’s important that Professor Xavier has a history with Magneto that comes before the X-Men, so it’s possible he may play a small part in this film — or maybe he’ll be saved for the post-credits scene?
Regardless, most of the rumored names for Magneto have been actors close to 50, if not older, which is too old for Magneto to be a contemporary of Professor X, played by a 40-year-old Christopher Abbott. So I suspect he’ll be played by someone that no one is thinking about right now.
Source: Polygon
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